Midwest Road Trip
(Day Two: Saturday, May 24 - Page 04)

St. Louis Gateway Arch, MO:
After a good night at the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, MO we grabbed buffet breakfast from the parlor downstairs then headed out for the local St. Louis attractions. One weird note outside of one couple, all other couples left before breakfast…I wonder if they were scared by something. When the city of St. Louis comes to mind, you think about the St. Louis Arch…That is where we are heading to first.

The Arch which was designed by Eero Saarinen stands 630 feet tall and is the tallest building in the city of St. Louis. The city of St. Louis can be seen from the Western windows and the city of East St. Louis, IL and the Mississippi River can be seen from the Eastern windows. Construction which lasted over two years was completed in 1965 to celebrate and promote western population expansion into the western US States.

I have been to the top of the arch once before when I was in High School and remember being a little Closterphobic in the five passenger capsule which ratchets riders up to the top from the loading point underneath the ground. While I was older, bigger, I did not feel as bad during the ride up and down. When in Saint Louis this attraction is a definite must see, as this is a truly unique engineering marvel.

St. Louis Gateway Arch NP Website

St. Louis Riverfront Website

Paul J. Lossner